House bans ACA abortion subsidies

The House has passed a bill banning abortion coverage in federally subsidized Obamacare plans, amid a renewed GOP push to keep abortion a front-and-center issue in the midterm elections.

The measure, passed Tuesday afternoon by a 227-188 vote, would make it illegal for individuals to use the law’s subsidies to buy plans through the new health exchanges that would cover abortion services. Half the states have already passed legislation limiting abortion coverage in exchange plans, but this measure would apply nationwide and possibly discourage insurers on the exchanges from offering abortion coverage at all.

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“We are simply ensuring that hardworking Americans who pay taxes and oppose abortion don’t see their taxpayer dollars going to fund abortion,” said Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), vice chairwoman of the Republican Conference. “We’ve had legislation similar to this bill in place for over three decades.”

Despite the House’s action, the bill stands virtually no chance of being taken up in the Senate. Moreover, the White House has said the president would be advised to veto the bill were it to reach his desk.

The bitterly contested question driving the measure is whether taxpayer funding is being used for abortion coverage in the new Obamacare plans. Republicans say it is, since low-income women who don’t pay taxes can still receive credits to buy coverage on the exchanges. Democrats say otherwise, pointing to a separate fee that women must pay with their own money to cover the abortion services part of a plan.

“This is propaganda, it’s political,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. “The Republicans are trying to make people believe their taxpayer dollars are being used to pay for abortions. It’s not true.”

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), would also permanently codify several long-standing prohibitions on taxpayer funding for abortion, such as the Hyde Amendment, which have typically been tacked onto annual spending bills. The vote is the 50th time the House has moved to repeal or change parts or all of the Affordable Care Act.

House GOP leaders gave the bill a prominent spotlight in keeping with the party’s renewed offense on abortion. Republicans are hitting back against Democrats’ “war on women” messaging and vowing to support candidates this year who don’t shy away from the issue.

After delaying the start of its winter meeting last week to allow members to attend the annual March for Life in Washington, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution saying the party won’t stay silent about abortion and urging candidates to defend their views and counter supporters of legal abortion.

The party is also aware that it needs to massage its own messaging given recent comments by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee that reminded many Republicans of their ongoing problems in talking about reproduction. For the first time, the GOP’s Senate campaign headquarters is training candidates how to talk about women’s issues.

The Smith bill reignites the battle over abortion funding that almost derailed the Affordable Care Act four years ago. President Barack Obama ultimately won over enough anti-abortion Democrats to pass the health law by promising that it wouldn’t allow federal funds to be used for abortions.

But Republicans were far from satisfied. The GOP-led House passed a near-identical bill in 2011 — which Smith also sponsored — but it dead-ended in the Senate. The same seems certain to happen this time around.

Democrats were indignant over Tuesday’s vote, blasting Republicans for combining the abortion bill with a farm funding bill under one rule and refusing to bring up an extension of emergency unemployment insurance for a vote.

“We hear how important it is until the child is born, but if it’s unemployed later it’s not going to get to eat as long as we have this majority,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.).